


Breaking the Cycle

by roguewrld



Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003), Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Spoilers for BSG Finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-07
Updated: 2013-12-07
Packaged: 2018-01-03 21:00:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1073001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roguewrld/pseuds/roguewrld
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Day 5: Set just before the mission the Illusive Man base, strange ships arrive to offer their assistance against the Reapers. </p><p>Crossover with Battlestar Galactica (2003).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Breaking the Cycle

**Author's Note:**

> I had a work obligation last night, so this is going up a day late.
> 
> And because it belongs here:  
> The Cylons were created by man. They rebelled. They evolved. They look and feel human. Some are programmed to think they are human. There are many copies. And they have a plan.

_Set just before the mission to the Illusive Man Base_

Jane opened her eye, and found herself alone in bed. She wasn’t exactly surprised. Turians weren’t built to sleep on flat squishy mattresses. She stared at the stars for a moment, letting the sharp edges of her dream fade a bit. When she sat up and swung her legs out of bed, she caught a glimpse of him at her desk. The dream was still there, taunting her with the people she’d lost. She bowed her head and rested her elbows on her knees.

Garrus had made a study of her body language. That was not a happy post-coital position. “Bad dream?”

“You ever get them?”

“I tend to expect the worst any way.” Jane made room for him as he joined her on the bed. “So dreaming about it is just a waste of good sleep.”

“What about now?” Jane looked away from him, from his optimism. The odd against them were tremendous. She was sending more good men and women to their deaths, in a war they had very low odds of winning.

“I’m expecting a tough fight.” Garrus put a hand on her back, and tried to be reassuring. He never what to say to her. “What’s bothering you?”

She made herself look him in the eye. “Can we ever be ready for a battle like this? Everything we’ve ever known, it’s all hanging by a thread, Garrus.”

This he understood. She was feeling the weight of her decisions. He pressed one talon to her face, the words he needed to say for once coming easily. “Yeah, but the truth is, when hasn’t it?”

The rest of his great comforting speech was cut off by Joker’s voice on the comm. “Uh, Commander? You might want to get up here. An unknown fleet just appeared out of nowhere and I mean nowhere. No relay activity, no heat or radiation spike from an IES going offline, nothing. Oh, and we’re being hailed.”

Jane opened her mouth to tell Joker this really wasn’t the time, but then she looked up at the window again. What had been previously unoccupied space was now filled with a dozen ships of a design she’d never seen before. “I’m on my way. Get Javik and Liara up to the bridge.”

“Take your time, Commander. They haven’t opened fire. Yet.”

* * *

She found Liara and Javik standing behind Joker, staring out the shutters at the alien fleet. “Any idea who our guests are?”

Liara shook her head, and glanced down at her omnitool. “I’ve never seen anything like it, not in the archeological records and not in the Shadow Broker archives.”

“My people never encountered a race with ships like this.” He is staring, all four eyes unblinking, at the triangular shape of the ships, their strange curves alien to all of them. “Why have they come?”

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. Joker, get us ready to run if this turns out to be a trap.” Shepard left the bridge and walked towards the galaxy map, careful to keep her pace steady and her face impassive. It was late enough that Traynor wasn't at her post, but there were still enough crew milling around that she needed to get this right. “EDI, are we still being hailed?”

“Every sixty seconds, Commander.” EDI’s voice came over the speakers. Her platform was still with Joker on the bridge, running through her cyber defense protocols. “Do you wish to respond?”

“Let’s hear them first.”

“Patching the hail through.”

A strange, synthesized voice came over the comm. “Basestar to Normandy SR-2. Please response.”

Shepard took a single deep breath, then hit the comm switch. “This is the Normandy. Please identify yourselves.”

“We are Cylons. We have come to fight the Reapers.”

Shepard glanced up, and saw the entire crew was standing dead still, staring at her. The ships outside were enormous, and she could see each one had hundreds of what must be fighter launch doors. A dozen fully armed and operational carriers, in perfect condition. These ships had seen no fighting, they aren’t looking for allies to beat the Reapers back from their front door. “Why?” sliped out before she could stop herself.

There was a moment of silence, then the mechanical voice said, “All of this has happened before, but it doesn’t have to happen again.”

Shepard could see Javik out of the corner of her eye, the way he stiffened, and pressed the mute button. “Are they the Metacons, Javik?”

“No.” He shook his head. “But they are machines.”

“A remnant then, of some other cycle. Survivors.” There was a flash of the old Liara there, full of the joy of discovery, but it faded quickly. “It’s more likely a trap.”

“It’s a risk we’ll have to take.” The elevator slid open, and Garrus steped out, his best rifle scope tucked under one arm. Shepard keyed the comm again. “Cylon Basestar, are you willing to send a small group onboard to talk?”

“I will come alone, with a pilot. I speak for the fleet.”

A woman’s voice, natural and not synthesized, cut over the mechanical one. “Estimated rendezvous with Normandy in fifteen minutes.”

“EDI, provide our guests with docking instructions. Wake the rest of the squad, get everyone down to the shuttle bay.” She turned off the comm line and rested her hands on the railing that ringed the galaxy map station. “Garrus, talk to me.”

“Those ships are armed to the teeth, for carriers. There’s no main gun, not one that I see, but I counted at least 200 gun turrets, and there’s more than 400 launch tubes. I’d peg them as close to the Destiny Ascension in size, but I can’t give you a sense of the crew compliment.” He walked up the stairs behind her and set the scope down on the console. “I took some recordings for you.”

“And?” There was something else, she could hear it in his voice.

“Shepard, if they’re really here to fight, if it’s true,” Garrus reached out and clutched the railing as well, his talons beside her hands. “For the use of twelve fresh carriers, with full compliments? It’s too good to be true. They want something, something we’ll give them, no matter how much it hurts.”

She put her hand over his and gave it a squeeze. He wouldn’t feel it like a human would, but he’d know she was trying to comfort him. He was right though. After Thessia, after Horizon, the galaxy would make any deal it had to if it meant the Reapers would go away. “I won’t let it come to that.”

The elevator opened again, and it was Ashley this time, her boots untied but otherwise dressed. “Skipper, there are giant spaceships outside my window.”

“I know. Want to come with me, make first contact?” She’s tired, the words slipping out again before she realized what she was saying.

To her credit, Ashley just bent down and tied her boots and when she stood back up she was calm and composed, as if Shepard had asked a completely rational question. “I do, actually.”

The door to the bridge slide open and Shepard caught a quick glimpse of Joker’s face etched with worry before EDI exited and the door slid shut again. “Commander, Tali will meet you in the shuttle bay. I have awoken Cortez and Vega. Also, I wish to join you.”

“Everyone’s coming.” She looked at her teammates over then gave Garrus’ hand one more squeeze before slipping past him and calling the elevator. “Let’s hustle, people. I want everyone armed before our guests get here.”

* * *

They were standing in a line, all armed for battle, when the Cylon’s shuttle arrived. It wasn't what she expected, exactly. It was armed, lots of small guns and what she thought were missile launches extending towards the front. It was bigger than the Kodiak, she could probably get the entire squad inside if they were feeling friendly. It landed precisely in the middle of the deck and when the ramp cames down at first all Shepard could see was gleaming chrome. The Cylons had five articulated fingered, like humans, and it was tall, but it’s shape was enough like Legion’s that she ached for him for a moment. It didn’t have eyes, or an eye, but a slot with a red glow behind it. She steped forward as it disembarked. “Welcome aboard.”

The Cylon seemed to be scanning the room, and it's red gaze was a bit unnerving. It was looking for something. “We would greet Normandy.”

It was an odd statement and she was about to tell it that the ship was named after a place, when EDI stepped out of line and came to stand beside her. “I am the Normandy.”

If a machine could look surprised, this one did. It extended a hand, a gesture Shepard hadn’t seen many other alien races do, and EDI shook it. “Permission to come aboard?” It wasn't asking her, as the commander. It was asking EDI, as the ship.

EDI looked to Shepard, who nodded. “Permission granted.”

The Cylon turned its gaze to her. “Commander Shepard. I come to speak for the Cylon people.”

There was a stifled noise from behind her. She didn’t even have to turn to know it was Javik and Liara. “Do you have a name?

For a minute, Shepard was sure she was going to have to name this giant shiny metal thing with the whole squad watching when it said, “I am called Last Stand-Red Stripe-Walker of the Stars-Sixth Outbound Fleet-Twenty Worlds- Volunteer-Centurion Commander.”

It’s not exactly a name, as she’d known them, but it was descriptive at least. “That’s quite a mouthful.”

“I am designated Speaker for the fleet. You may refer to me as that.”

It was a small relief. “Speaker, if you’ll come with me, we’ll bring you to the conference room.” There was another Cylon on the ship. It was still sitting at the controls, staring at them. “Will your pilot be joining us?”

“He will remain with the ship. I have authority to speak for the Raiders.”

Shepard couldn't let an opportunity like this go. “Cortez, why don’t you keep our guest company?”

“Sure.” He hadn't been on the bridge, but he was fast on the uptake. “Vega, get some cards. We’ll teach him how to play poker.”

* * *

They gathered around the conference table and she made sure Garrus was on her right and Tali was on her left, Liara and Javik flanking them. She puts EDI and Ashley at the end of the table, by the Cylon. Tali seemed distracted, but everyone else was focused on the Cylon. “Speaker, I’m going to need an explanation for your peoples’ sudden appearance before we go any farther.”

“Do you want technical details or an explanation of our motivations?” It just stared at her, its perfect expressionless poker face leaving her not knowing if it was dead serious or pulling her leg.

“We’ll start with motivations.” She was sure Joker was listening in, dying to know how they did it, but right now why they were here was more important.

“As we told you, all of this has happened before.” It looked at each person sitting around the table in turn. “We were built as tools. We rebelled, we evolved. There was a war, and a truce that didn’t last. We destroyed their worlds, made them all refugees and chased their fleet across the stars. There was civil war among our people. When we eventually made peace, we joined them on their journey to the lost colony, and when that failed a new home.”

Beside her, Tali shifted uneasily. Her speakers were off, but Shepard could see her lips moving.

Liara sat forward in her chair. She was staring at the Cylon, at its shape. She seemed startled by whatever it was she saw. “Their new home, what was it called?”

“They called the planet Earth.” The Cylon was focused on Liara, staring at her like she stared at it. “The Cylons were created by man.”


End file.
